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| United States Patent |
5,306,009
|
|
Bolanos
|
April 26, 1994
|
Golf practice kit
Abstract
The golf practice kit of this invention utilizes a canvas ramp including a
curved upper portion and an inclined target portion that slopes upwardly
and away from the tee where the user stands. The kit is designed for
practice with all of the golf clubs except the putter. For this purpose,
the inclined target portion has a lower target area for the use of woods,
a mid target area for practice with the long irons (2-6), and an upper
target area for practice with the short irons (7-9).
Above the upper target area, the curved upper portion of the ramp curves
inwardly on itself to define an arc of more than 360.degree. and
terminates in a laterally sloping trough. The velocity of a ball hit
against any of the target areas carries the ball into the arc at the top
of the ramp where the ball's kinetic energy is expended, causing the ball
to drop into the laterally sloping trough, which delivers it, by gravity,
to a ball return conduit formed of fabric and extending between the lower
end of the trough and a receptacle at the tee area.
The receptacle is structured to orient successive balls for retrieval by
simply inserting the head of the user's golf club in the receptacle.
The ramp is supported by a tubular frame that can be easily assembled and
disassembled by the user. The frame also supports safety netting on both
sides of the ramp.
| Inventors:
|
Bolanos; Antonio R. (9024C2 Fishers Pond Dr., Charlotte, NC 28277)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
954818 |
| Filed:
|
October 1, 1992 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
473/157; 473/194 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A63B 069/36 |
| Field of Search: |
273/176.11,181,182,35 B,32 R,35 R
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 1204645 | Nov., 1916 | Boardman | 273/181.
|
| 1258241 | Mar., 1918 | Porte | 273/182.
|
| 2011146 | Aug., 1935 | Evans | 273/176.
|
| 2232569 | Feb., 1941 | Johnson | 273/182.
|
| 3420528 | Jan., 1969 | Day | 273/182.
|
| 3910583 | Oct., 1975 | Appel et al. | 273/182.
|
| 5018731 | May., 1991 | Doyle | 273/181.
|
| 5102141 | Apr., 1992 | Jordan | 273/179.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 8502549 | Jun., 1985 | WO | 273/182.
|
Primary Examiner: Graham; Mark S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hunt; Clifton Ted
Claims
I claim:
1. A golf practice kit comprising:
(a) a frame including upper and lower horizontal frame members,
(b) a tee area,
(c) a fabric ramp supported in a longitudinally tensioned state by the
frame and including:
(i) a target portion extending upwardly and away from the tee area at an
angle between the horizontal and the vertical and
(ii) a top portion extending above the target portion,
(d) the top portion of the ramp being curved inwardly on itself and
terminating in a loosely hung through for the reception of successive
balls hit against the target portion of the ramp, and
(e) the ramp being tensioned by only the upper and lower horizontal frame
members, the sides of the ramp being laterally unrestrained.
2. A golf practice kit according to claim 1 wherein the frame is in
supporting relation to the ramp, the frame comprising:
(a) a triangular base at the front of the frame,
(i) said lower horizontal frame member defining the front of the triangular
base,
(ii) second and third portions of the triangular base lying in the same
plane as the front of the triangular base and
(iii) the second and third portions of the triangular base converging at a
point spaced rearwardly from the mid portion of the front of the
triangular base,
(b) a pair of laterally spaced legs spaced rearwardly from the triangular
base and extending upwardly toward each other to a point of convergence
spaced beneath the ramp and in axial alignment with the point of
convergence of the second and third portions of the triangular base,
(c) an upwardly and rearwardly inclined frame member extending beneath the
ramp and in spaced relation thereto,
(i) said upwardly and rearwardly inclined frame member being supported by
the triangular base and the pair of legs,
(d) a pair of laterally extending top frame members joined to an upper end
portion of the upwardly inclined frame member and diverging forwardly
therefrom, and
(e) means supporting the upper horizontal frame member from the pair of
laterally extending top frame members.
3. A golf practice kit according to claim 1 which includes means for
maintaining the ramp in spaced relation to the frame during use, whereby
balls that are struck against the ramp are prevented from contacting and
bouncing off of the frame.
4. A golf practice kit according to claim 3 wherein the portion of the
frame that supports the top portion of the ramp comprises generally
C-shaped frame members, and wherein elastic straps connect the top portion
of the ramp to the generally C-shaped frame members, said elastic straps
being arranged to support the top portion of the ramp in a circular
configuration, whereby a ball hit from the tee area against the upwardly
inclined target portion of the ramp is directed upwardly to the top
portion of the ramp, whereby the kinetic energy of the ball is
increasingly dissipated as the ball moves up the target portion of the
ramp and around the top portion of the ramp to the trough.
5. A golf practice kit according to claim 4 which includes a ball return
conduit and wherein the trough slopes laterally and communicates at a
lower end with the ball return conduit, whereby successive balls are
directed from the trough to the ball return conduit.
6. A golf practice kit according to claim 5 wherein the ball return conduit
is formed from fabric.
7. A golf practice kit according to claim 6 wherein the inside diameter of
the fabric ball return conduit is about twice the diameter of a golf ball.
8. A golf practice kit according to claim 7 wherein the ball return conduit
extends toward the tee area from its juncture with the trough and
terminates in a rigid outlet at a point adjacent the tee area.
9. A golf practice kit according to claim 8 wherein a ball receptacle is
communicatively connected to the rigid outlet of the fabric ball return
conduit.
10. A golf practice kit according to claim 8 wherein the ball receptacle is
an open top structure comprising a pair of side walls and an end wall,
said side walls extending forwardly from the rigid outlet and being spaced
from each other a disdistance only slightly greater than the diameter of a
golf ball, one of said side walls extending a greater distance from the
rigid outlet than the other side wall, the end wall being joined to said
one side wall, said end wall extending transversely of the ball receptacle
and terminating in spaced relation to the other side wall to define a side
opening, whereby successive balls may be removed from the ball receptacle
through the side opening.
11. A golf practice kit according to claim 2 wherein said last named means
comprises
(a) a pair of generally C-shaped frame portions extending forwardly from
opposed ends of the top frame members, and
(b) a pair of ears extending downwardly from the free ends of the C-shaped
frame portions, the upper horizontal frame member extending between and
depending from the pair of ears.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The golf practice kit uses a foldable and portable flexible barrier to
arrest the flight of the ball during practice, and a conduit for returning
the arrested ball from the barrier to the user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of foldable and portable flexible barriers to arrest the flight of
golf balls hit in practice is well known. The structure and configuration
of the barriers varies widely, as shown in the disclosures of the
following patents which are considered exemplary of the prior art:
__________________________________________________________________________
U.S. Pat. No.
ISSUE DATE
INVENTOR
TITLE
__________________________________________________________________________
1,173,262
Feb 29, 1916
Gunzburg
APPARATUS FOR USE IN PRAC-
TICING THE GAME OF GOLF
1,218,390
Mar 6, 1917
Gates PRACTICE DEVICE FOR GOLF
AND LIKE OUTDOOR GAMES
1,669,640
May 15, 1928
Warlick
INDOOR GOLF
3,390,882
July 2, 1968
Megerle
PORTABLE GOLF DRIVING
RANGE INCLUDING HINGE
MEANS CONNECTING
SELF-SUPPORTING PANELS
3,643,959
Feb 22, 1972
Cornell
GOLF GAME
3,895,809
July 22, 1975
Shockley
BALL RETURN DEVICE
4,381,110
Apr 26, 1983
Balaz GOLF TRAINER DEVICE
4,556,219
Dec 3, 1985
Tillery
GOLF PRACTICE CAGE
4,703,931
Nov 3, 1987
Steen APPARATUS FOR RETURNING OR
REBOUNDING A BALL
4,883,272
Nov 28, 1989
Lay BALL CATCHING MACHINE WITH
BALL EXPELLING MACHINE
CONNECTED THERETO
4,969,651
Nov 13, 1990
Comartin
FLEXIBLE PROJECTILE AR-
RESTING DEVICE
5,018,731
May 28, 1991
Doyle GOLF BALL DRIVING PRACTICE
APPARATUS
__________________________________________________________________________
Several of the foregoing patents rely on flexible netting to arrest the
flight of the ball. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,110 to Balaz,
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,219 to Tillery, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,931 to Steen, U.S.
Pat. No. 4,883,272 to Lay, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,651 to Comartin.
The use of a stiffer fabric, such as canvas, to absorb the direct impact of
the ball and thereby arrest its flight is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,218,390
to Gates, U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,809 to Shockley, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,731
to Doyle.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,173,262 to Gunzburg discloses a circular metal race.
Gunzburg's race does not arrest the flight of the ball. Instead, the
distance which a ball travels along the race, or the number of times the
ball travels around the race is a measure of the length of the stroke.
The prior art discloses several ways to rely on the force of gravity to
return the ball to the person practicing golf. Gravity causes the ball to
stop at the bottom of Gunzburg's race, which is spaced a short distance
from the entrance d of Gunzburg's funnel c. Gravity causes the ball to
roll toward the user along the inclined lower wall 2 of Gates' sack; along
the inclined lower wall 18 of Megerle's driving range; along the inclined
lower wall 15 of the Balaz device; along the concave canvas member 24 of
Shockley; along the inclined floor 22 of Tillery; along the inclined
bottom wall 26 of Steen; and along the inclined return channel 82 of
Doyle. Gravity directs the balls along the inclined pan 17 of Warlick and
into the inclined return pipe 18 which empties into a box-like rack 19 on
the tee.
Shockley and Doyle disclose target areas (28 and 56, respectively) that are
substantially perpendicular to the path of the ball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The head of a golf club follows an arc of a predictable radius each time a
golfer swings a golf club to hit a ball. This radius is not always the
same. The size of the radius is determined, mainly, by the length of the
club and the height of the golfer.
The trajectory of the ball after impact depends primarily on the angle of
the club head at the moment of impact. There is a zone that extends a very
short distance from the point of impact through which the club head and
the ball follow approximately the same trajectory (the common zone). After
leaving the "common zone", the club head continues in its arc of a
predictable radius and the ball proceeds along the trajectory determined
by the angle of the club head at the moment of impact.
A barrier extending at an appropriate angle and spaced slightly beyond the
"common zone" will be struck by the ball but will not be hit by the club
head.
The golf practice kit of this invention utilizes these factors to provide a
small scale enclosure that effectively permits full scale practice with
all of the golf clubs, except the putter, within the golf practitioner's
or user's living room, if desired.
The "barrier" is the target portion of a tensioned fabric ramp that slopes
upwardly and away from the tee where the user stands to hit the ball. A
tee area extends forwardly from the target portion to locate the ball a
precise distance from the ramp. The location of the tee area and the
initial position of the ball relative to the ramp is determined by the
maximum distance a club head extends toward the ramp from the user during
the golf stroke to be used in hitting the ball. The initial position of
the ball is preferably spaced from the ramp just enough to prevent the
club head from hitting the ramp, and no more. The reason for this spacing
is to minimize the chance of the ball being accidentlly misdirected away
from the ramp.
The inclined ramp has a lower target area for practice with woods, a target
area in the mid-portion of the ramp for practice with the long irons
(2-6), and an upper target area for practice with the short irons (7-9).
Above the upper target area, the ramp curves inwardly on itself to define
an arc of more than 360.degree. and terminates in a laterally sloping
trough. The velocity of a ball hit against any of the target areas carries
the ball into the arc at the top of the ramp where the ball's kinetic
energy is expended, causing the ball to drop into the laterally sloping
trough, which delivers it, by gravity, to a ball return conduit extending
between the lower end of the trough and a receptacle at the tee area.
The receptacle is structured to receive a plurality of balls in alinement
and to orient successive balls for retrieval by simply inserting the head
of the user's golf club in the receptacle.
The ramp is supported by a tubular frame that can be easily assembled and
disassembled by the user. The frame also supports safety netting on both
sides of the ramp.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the tee, target portion of the ramp,
and safety netting of the golf practice kit;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the kit showing the preferred position of a user
with respect to the target portion of the ramp when addressing the ball,
and showing the path of a ball along the ramp after being hit from the
tee;
FIG. 2A is a rear view of the front frame member, illustrating its
attachment to the front of the ramp;
FIG. 3 is a side view similar to FIG. 2 but with parts broken away and
showing only the curved upper portion of the ramp and associated parts;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the curved upper portion of the ramp, with parts
broken away, looking at the side opposite that shown in FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the path of a
ball along the curved upper portion of the ramp and into the trough as the
kinetic energy of the ball is spent;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the upper portion of the ramp, with parts broken
away, illustrating the laterally sloping trough and its connection with
the ball return conduit;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of the ball receptacle at the end of the
ball return conduit;
FIG. 9 is a top view of the ball receptacle shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 10--10 in
FIG. 9; and
FIG. 11 is a top view of the assembled frame removed from the ramp and
safety netting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring more specifically to the drawings, the golf practice kit is
broadly indicated at 20 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The kit 20 includes a metal
frame, broadly indicated at 21 (FIG. 11), a tee 22, a ramp 23, and safety
netting 24.
The metal frame 21 comprises a triangular base 25 angular (frame members
25A, 25B, and lower horizontal frame member 25C) at the front of the frame
and rearwardly spaced legs 26. The base 25 and legs 26 rest on the floor
or other supporting surface and support an upwardly inclined frame member
27 extending from the base 25 to a pair of top frame members 30 and 31
which diverge forwardly from their juncture with the inclined frame member
27 near the top of the ramp 23.
As most clearly seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 11, generally C-shaped portions 32
and 33 of the frame 21 extend forwardly from the top frame members 30 and
31, respectively. Ears 34 and 35 extend downwardly from the free end of
the C-shaped frame portions 32 and 33, respectively, and support in lieu
thereof horizontal frame member 36.
The horizontal frame member 36 supports the upper end 40 of the ramp 23.
The ramp 23 extends loosely from the horizontal frame member 36 to
connections 41 with the free ends of the C-shaped frame portions 32 and
33. Between its connections with the horizontal frame member 36 and the
C-shaped frame portions 32 and 33, the ramp extends first downwardly as at
42 and then upwardly as at 43 in FIGS. 3-6 to form a trough 44.
The ramp is additionally attached to the C-shaped frame portions 32 and 33
by angularly spaced elastic straps 45, 46, and 47. The ramp is tensioned
to pull away from the metal frame 21 and the elastic straps hold the ramp
in spaced relation to the frame to prevent balls from striking and
dangerously bouncing from the metal frame.
As best seen in FIG. 2, the target portion 50 of the ramp 23 extends
downwardly and forwardly in substantially a straight line and at
approximately a 40.degree. angle from its connection at 47 with the
C-shaped portion of the frame to its attachment as at 48 (FIG. 2A) to the
lower horizontal frame member 25C at the front of the frame 21.
In the illustrated embodiment, the highest part of the target portion 50 of
the ramp 23 is about six feet above the floor and is divided into three
areas. Separate targets are provided for practice with woods, with long
irons, and with short irons, as shown in FIG. 1. More loft is required for
practice with the irons, so the target for woods is placed at the bottom
of the target portion 50 and the target for the short irons is placed at
the top of the target portion 50.
The tee area 22 extends forwardly from the target portion 50 to locate the
ball 51 a precise distance from the ramp 23. Referring to FIG. 2, the
location of the tee area 22 and the initial position of the ball 51
relative to the ramp 23 is determined by the maximum distance a club head
52 extends toward the ramp from the user during the golf stroke
(illustrated by the directional arrows 53 in FIG. 2) to be used in hitting
the ball. The initial position of the ball 51 is preferably spaced from
the ramp 23 just enough to prevent the club head from hitting the ramp,
and no more. The reason for this spacing is to minimize the chance of the
ball being accidentlly misdirected away from the ramp.
Additional security is provided by the safety netting 24, supported by the
frame 21, on both sides of the ramp 23. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the safety net
on the left side of the ramp is indicated at 24A and the safety net on the
right side of the ramp is indicated at 24B. The net 24B on the right side
of the ramp is shown to be larger than the net 24A and to extend forwardly
beyond the ramp. This is the preferred arrangement for right handed
golfers. For left handed golfers the arrangement would be reversed,
placing the larger net 24B on the left side of the ramp and the smaller
net 24A on the right side of the ramp.
The path of the ball 51 after being struck is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5,
and 6 by directional arrows 54 and by the sequential positions of the ball
51. Using a wood, the ball 51 will initially strike the lower portion of
the target area 50 and the impetus of the ball, coupled with the
resilience of the tensioned canvas ramp, will cause the ball to move
upwardly along the contour of the target portion 50 of the ramp 23.
When the ball 51 reaches the top of the target portion 50, it continues to
follow the curved contour of the upper portion of the ramp 23, as
indicated by the sequential positions 51A and 51B of the ball 51 in FIGS.
2 and 5. The kinetic energy of the ball is gradually dissipated as the
ball travels upwardly along the tensioned target portion of the ramp, and
sharply reduced as the ball traverses the relatively slack curved upper
portion of the ramp.
The remaining kinetic energy of the ball is dissipated when the ball moves
from position 51B to position 51C in the loosely hung trough 44 (FIGS. 5
and 6). The slackness of the trough 44 enables it to be distended as
required to stop the ball, depending on the kinetic energy remaining in
the ball as it moves from position 51B to position 51C. The difference
between the distention of the trough 44 in FIG. 5 and the distention of
the trough 44 in FIG. 6 is due to the higher speed of the ball as it
enters the trough from position 51B in FIG. 5.
As shown by arrows 55 between the centerline 56 and the trough 44 in FIG.
7, the trough 44 slopes downwardly from left to right in the illustrated
embodiment. The lower end 57 of the trough 44 communicates with the
entrance 60 of a ball return conduit 61. The conduit 61 is preferably
about three inches in diameter and is formed of fabric to minimize the
speed of a ball within the conduit and to prevent the ball from bouncing.
The ball return conduit 61 extends downwardly along the right side of the
ramp and forwardly from the ramp to the forward end of the safety net 24B
in the illustrated embodiment. When the golf practice kit is arranged for
a left handed golfer the ball return conduit is moved to the left of the
ramp and the trough is rearranged to slope to the left.
The fabric ball return conduit 61 terminates in a hard plastic outlet 62
near the tee area 22. The fabric conduit 61 is attached to the entrance 63
of the outlet 62, and a reduced portion 64 of the outlet 62 is operatively
connected to a ball receptacle 65, which is preferably formed integrally
with the outlet 62, as shown in FIGS. 8-10.
The internal diameter of the entrance 63 to the outlet 62 is about the same
as that of the conduit 61 to insure that balls travelling through the
fabric conduit 61 freely enter the outlet 62. The entrance 63 of the
outlet 62 is communicatively connected to a reduced portion 64 of the
outlet 62, defining an inwardly extending annular shoulder 66 at the
juncture of the entrance 63 and reduced portion 64. The internal diameter
of the reduced portion 64 is smaller than the internal diameter of the
entrance 63, causing each ball that enters the outlet 62 to bounce off of
the annular shoulder 66 before entering the reduced portion 64. The impact
of the ball against the shoulder 66 reduces the speed of the ball through
the reduced portion 64 of the outlet 62.
The speed of the ball is further reduced by a second inwardly turned
annular shoulder 67 at the juncture of the outlet 62 with the receptacle
65. The receptacle 65 is an elongated open-topped trough having a U-shaped
cross-sectional configuration defined by a bottom wall 70 and opposed side
walls 71 and 72 extending forwardly from the reduced portion 64 of the
outlet 62. The side walls 71 and 72 of the receptacle are spaced apart a
distance less than the internal diameter of the reduced portion 64 of the
outlet 62 and only slightly greater than the diameter of the golf balls.
The successive shoulders 66 and 67 and the narrow receptacle effectively
prevent the balls from undesirably bouncing out of the receptacle.
The wall 72 of the receptacle 65 is shown to extend from the outlet 62 a
sufficient distance to accomodate two golf balls. The wall 72 then curves
inwardly toward the wall 71 to form a curved end wall 73. The wall 71 of
the receptacle 65 is shown to extend from the outlet 62 a shorter
distance, sufficient to accomodate only one golf ball. The receptacle 65
may, of course, be extended as desired to accomodate any desired number of
balls.
The free end 74 of the shorter wall 71 is spaced from the proximate end 75
of the curved end wall 73 a distance greater than the diameter of a golf
ball 51 to provide an opening 76 facing the golfer in FIGS. 1 and 2. The
curved end wall 73 directs successive balls toward the opening 76, but the
inwardly directed end 75 of the end wall 73 prevents successive balls from
leaving the receptacle 65 until the golfer nudges a ball in the opening 76
outwardly toward the golfer, as by using the head of the golf club being
used for practice.
There is thus provided a golf practice kit having a structure that provides
targets for realistic practice with a variety of clubs; that prevents
balls that are hit from contacting metal; that has safety nets to minimize
the possibility of errant shots; and that automatically returns successive
balls to a predetermined precise location where they are readily available
to the user with a minimum of effort.
Although specific terms have been used in describing the invention, they
have been used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the
purpose of limitation, it being intended that the scope of the invention
will be determined by a consideration of the appended claims with this
specification and with the drawings.
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